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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23611498">Sex Education S3</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swfives/pseuds/Swfives'>Swfives</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sex Education (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, M/M, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:02:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,808</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23611498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swfives/pseuds/Swfives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted to create a realistic take on what could happen for S3, since we may have to wait even longer than we did for S2.<br/>Hope you enjoy, and remember this isn't canon or official in any way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eric Effiong/Adam Groff, Otis Milburn/Maeve Wiley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. E1 P1 - Brown's village stores</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jean Milburn opened the fridge and took out the milk jug. She then moved to the shelf on the wall above the coffee machine, and, upon realising that there was no coffee left, sighed and took out her phone. She opened her messages and sent a message to Otis, asking if he could nip to the shops and pick up some coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis’ phone let off a ping into the silent night. He opened it and replied with a ‘Yes I’m not far from the shop.’ He pocketed it again and changed his direction. It was really dark without the light from his phone, and he could barely make out which buildings he was passing as he walked slowly into the village.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve opened the door to the shop and went inside. The man at the till looked up from his magazine and put it to one side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re just in time,” he announced, “I was about to lock up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t be long,” answered Maeve with a small smile. She walked to the back of the shop, next to which was a door with stairs to the flat above. She could hear a gentle sobbing from the top.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My Nephew,” said the man, seeing where she was looking. “He’s had a bad day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve understood. She thought she might never see Elsie or her Mum again after what had happened today, and to think she had let herself believe that things were different this time. She turned away and made for the fridge section and took a jug of milk and a large packet of crisps from the front of the shop. She paid for them and made for the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No sooner than she closed it behind her had she stopped dead in her tracks. Otis did the same. Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds whilst they tried to realise what was happening. Otis spoke first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Maeve,” was all he could manage before she cut him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want, Otis?” she said quietly, now looking away from him. “Are you following me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No, I uh, I just wanted some coffee,” he replied with an awkward smile. “But I did try and find you back at the caravan park.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well I’m not in the mood,” She said and began to walk past him. “Whatever you have to say to me, don’t bother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, Maeve, but I-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please just leave me alone, Otis,” she interrupted, not turning around. “You’ve done enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon hearing that, Otis’ heart sank. He knew how horrible he’d been, but he had hoped that he could fix things. He heard the lock in the shop door behind him click, and saw the lights go out. He turned back and saw Maeve still walking away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said loudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve was surprised at the defiance, and whirled around, ready for an argument. But he was still Otis, and she didn’t like being angry at him. She didn’t know what to do as he walked towards her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I messed up Maeve, and I honestly can’t blame you for being angry at me. But I want to fix my mistakes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at him, astonished. The Otis she knew was nowhere near this confident. He would have given up after she walked away, just as he had at the school dance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want you to know that anything I said wasn’t justified, Maeve. I was an arsehole and I did things I never thought I would have done. I regret everything I’ve done to you over this past few weeks and I won’t ever make you feel that way again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Otis I-“ she began, but closed her mouth when she realised she didn’t know what to say. As her mind caught up with her she managed to say “I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis was also lost now. “Um, I don’t know what more I can say other than I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Maeve repeated very quietly. She looked up at Otis, her friend. His eyes were fixed on hers, and were filled with shame. She wanted to hug him for admitting his mistakes and trying to make it up to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” she said eventually, with a small smile. “Walk me home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Otis nearly jumped for joy at those words, but he managed to rein it in. However, his happiness must’ve been visible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Wipe that grin off your face, Dickhead.” Said Maeve, turning away, trying to conceal her smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried, failed, and went to catch her up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t help but feel guilty about Rahim, and yet he was happier than he’d been in a while. He let out a chuckle and rolled over to his bedside table. He picked up one of the many pieces of china he’d collected on his nighttime sessions with Adam. He fiddled with it for a minute, and then got up to close the curtains, turned off the light but still couldn’t get to sleep. His mind was wide awake. After a few minutes of this, he found an appealing thought amongst the tens of thousands keeping him awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swung his legs out of bed, pulled on a jacket and picked up his torch. He crept along the landing and down the stairs as quietly as he could, and made for the front door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adam was also lying awake. He was finally happy, and had nothing to hide anymore. He almost thought he had finally slipped away into the dream world when he heard a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tap</span>
  </em>
  <span> on his window. Adam jerked upright. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tap. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He moved to the window and parted the curtains. Eric was stood in the driveway, looking up at the window. He grinned when he saw Adam leaving the front door, and the two of them strolled off into the night holding hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve and Otis had just reached the caravan park. They stopped at the top of the hill and looked over at the small lights in the windows of a few of the caravans. They had been speaking almost normally all the way there, but there was something holding Maeve back. She knew what it was: she wasn’t ready to forgive him fully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is it then,” she said, turning to Otis. He looked down at her and nodded. “Listen,” she continued. “I know you mean everything you’ve said tonight. I know you regret what you did and you actually had the balls to speak to me about it, which is pretty impressive.” He smiled at that. “But things can’t go back to normal. Not yet, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand.” Replied Otis, saddened but somewhat relieved. Maeve was still looking at him as he averted his gaze to the caravans. Suddenly, she hugged him, just as she had once before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” She said into his ear. He hugged her back and then she let go, smiled that small smile one more time, and made her way back to Isaac and Joe’s caravan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” called out Otis as she reached the bottom of the hill. “I need to ask you something else,” Otis began. His heart was racing and he thought he could hear it in the silence that enveloped the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t checked your phone, have you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have it on me at the moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s um, that’s fine,” Otis was again unsure of what to say. “Just um, please check it when you get back then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will. See you on Monday, Otis.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the second time that night, Otis turned around and walked along that hill and back to his house. Halfway there, he realised that he didn’t get any coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isaac peered out the window as best he could and saw Maeve coming back along the path. She looked slightly happier, but she was still miserable and looked tired. He moved his wheelchair away from her phone and towards the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know what?” she said as she reached the top of the ramp. “I think I’m just gonna go to bed. Here’s your Milk.” She put the milk and crisps on the counter and picked up her phone, frowning when she saw that she had no new messages. She looked back up at Isaac. “Thanks though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded as if he understood. “Probably for the best. Sleep well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled and left, closing the door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lifeless space of her own home was hard to bear, but she went almost straight to sleep, not caring much about what tomorrow might bring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis awoke on Monday morning with a clear mind. He was relieved that he had found Maeve on Friday, even if he had been caught off guard to find her at the shop. He had been prepared to try and find her in the weekend if he’d had to. He got up, showered and went downstairs for breakfast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morning, Darling.” came the familiar voice of his mother from the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Mum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look a lot better today,” she said. “Good night’s sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I spoke to Dad on Friday,” Otis told her about their conversation and why he had been so strange for the past few weeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m glad you’re able to speak to me on a more personal level again,” concluded Jean. “I also want to thank you for what you did at the play. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody wants a word with you today at school about your clinic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. I’m not worried about it though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it might be prudent to decide what you’re going to tell them. You can’t have done it all by yourself though. Was there really nobody else you were working with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis sighed. He began to tell his mother about Maeve but had to skip a few details because he was short on time. He got up to Friday morning in his story before he heard the doorbell ring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’ll be Eric.” He said. “I better go now. We can finish this later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye, Darling. Have a good day at school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With Headmaster Groff’s suspension, nobody truly knew who would take over as headmaster. There was no official deputy head, and most of the teachers weren’t suited for the position. Jean was still barred from campus though. She didn’t mind.  She had more pressing matters to deal with.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed that, it was really fun to write and I can't wait to do the rest.<br/>I really wanted Otis' development in S2 to be shown when he confronts Maeve, and they need to at least speak as soon as possible, so I hope I've done that right.<br/>As for Jean, I'm going to explore her pregnancy and relationship with Jakob in episode 2 and beyond, so she needed to be on normal terms with Otis again in this one.<br/>Thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. E1 P2 - Monday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is my second part of my first episode of my attempt at a realistic series 3. I hope you enjoy and remember that none of this is canon in any way.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for the support on the last chapter. I didn't think so many people would read it in such a short amount of time.<br/>This one is slightly longer, as I want the chapters to feel engaging and not too brief.<br/>As for the time between publishing, I don't want to rush these, as I want them to be the best they can be.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Eric wouldn’t shut up the entire way to school. He seemed to have so much to tell Otis about Adam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know his Dad was suspended from school, right? Well, he was sleeping at school because he divorced Adam’s Mum and now he’s got nowhere to go.” He laughed his big hearty laugh. “I feel a bit bad about that honestly though.” He glanced over at Otis, who wasn’t paying much attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Otis?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Sorry, Eric just…” He trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not very talkative today are we? Okay, what’s got you thinking so much then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis hadn’t texted Eric all weekend and therefore hadn’t told him about Maeve yet. He sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I went to see Maeve on Friday. I apologised to her and she seemed a bit happier afterwards, but this morning I told my Mum everything that had happened between us and I just realised that I don’t think she can forgive me any time soon.” He finished with a look over at Eric, who was absorbed in the story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric couldn’t believe that Otis could have mustered the courage to speak to Maeve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure she’ll forgive you, Otis. If she knows you at all then she knows you meant it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Eric.” That actually improved Otis’ mood a big deal. She was still wracked with guilt, but some of it dissipated at Eric’s words. But then embarrassing Eric came back and Otis’ face fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so proud of you Otis!” Eric practically screamed into the woods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis smiled and shook his head. “Calm down before you crash.” Which Eric nearly did but regained his balance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve was already at school, having set off slightly earlier that morning. She thought it was probably to distract her from the emptiness of the caravan now that her Mum and Elsie were gone. She hoped Aimee would be there too, but of course, she wasn’t. She should actually be getting the bus today. Not for the first time on her own since the assault, but she still wasn’t entirely used to it yet. And because she was on the bus, she wouldn’t be early.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve moved through the corridors towards her locker. There were a few people indoors, but most people were outside. She opened her locker and dumped a few of her books in there. When she closed it, however, there was a girl she’d never seen before standing behind it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need your help.” Exclaimed the girl. She was short, not especially pretty, and had spilt some coffee down her top that morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Maeve was slightly taken aback but regained her usual composure soon enough. “Do I know you?” She frowned at the girl, who started speaking very quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m relatively new, but I heard from a friend that you give out sex advice, and I was wondering if you could help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ouch. Maeve understood instantly what the girl wanted. “Ah.” She said. “It’s not actually me that gives out the advice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh sorry have I got the wrong person?” she stammered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No. It’s my, uh, friend that does the actual therapy, but the clinic’s over.” She turned to walk away, but the girl grabbed her arm. Maeve looked down at the girl’s hand on her arm and then shot the girl a glare, who then instantly snatched her hand back. Maeve turned back around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, you’re new here so I don’t expect you to know why it’s over, but whoever told you to ask me definitely does. So why don’t you go and tell them to fuck off for wasting your time?” She finished with another glare and turned to leave again. The girl stumbled after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, it’s urgent. Couldn’t you make one exception?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve stopped walking and looked down at the girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But after that, you can go and tell your friend to keep their gob shut. Come and find me before school tomorrow and I’ll try and book you in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you!” the girl exclaimed, stumbling away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, now Maeve at least had an excuse to talk to Otis again. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She checked the time and walked back outside to the benches to wait for Aimee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since the incident at the play last Friday, Adam had spoken with the substitute Headteacher about returning to school. He had been granted a second opportunity on the condition that any nonsense would grant him a permanent expulsion. His mother had been very happy to hear the news, what with Adam being fired. So that morning, Adam met with Eric when he got to school with Otis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis was unsure of how he should act around Adam, and decided he should let Adam prove himself to have changed. The last thing Otis had said to Adam was a threat, so he was awkward to begin with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the two of them arrived at the main school building, he left Eric with Adam and went to his locker straight away. He had seen Maeve sitting on the benches with Aimee, but she didn’t catch his eye. He knew she wasn’t ignoring him and thought nothing more of it. When he got to his locker, he put his helmet inside, ate some Haribos, and went to class when the bell rang. It seemed as if things had gone back to normal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jackson was at a loose end since the play. There wasn’t going to be another performance, and the one on Friday hadn’t gone very smoothly. He wondered whether he should continue with acting, or pursue a new hobby. And if he chose the latter he would then have to figure out what that would be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>School would be easier in the meantime, though. He had Viv if he ever needed to hang out or help with some work, and he no longer had the pressure of the races.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He decided that he’d still run to school every day, if not just to keep in shape then to spend more time with his Mum, who had now accepted the fact that he didn’t want to swim anymore, and was encouraging him to pursue whatever made him happy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So on Monday morning, he arrived less early than he used to, but still earlier than most people. He headed to the library before assembly, in which everyone would meet the new Headteacher. He was hoping to catch Viv in the library, but to his surprise, she wasn’t there. He sat down on the comfy chairs in the centre and went on his phone for a bit. People started to come in as time passed. Some of them greeted him, his castmates from the play, mainly. He felt happier and figured that a new hobby would pop up, so he decided not to stress about it. He checked the time, and upon seeing that it was nearly time for assembly, he headed down to the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found Viv sat on the outside of one of the rows and took a seat next to her. His friends from the swim team had stopped talking to him as much since he abandoned swimming, but he was happy to have Viv, and he could talk with anyone he wanted if he needed to, besides a few people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Said people were just making their way to their own seats. Eric sat next to Otis with Adam on his right. Maeve was a few rows behind with Aimee and Steve, who were getting along fine again. Aimee noticed Maeve glancing over at Otis more than once before the assembly properly began, and smiled to herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long until the new headteacher came on stage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Moordale,” He began. “My name is Mr Logan and I’m your acting Headteacher until Mr Groff is back.” He was Scottish and much younger than Headmaster Groff. He wore a dark brown suit which matched his short, spiky brown hair and dark eyes. He seemed friendlier than Mr Groff had been and managed to keep the entire room silent on his first go, something that Mr Groff repeatedly failed to do. Although, this may have been because everyone wanted to see how the replacement compared to Groff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued with his introduction, which didn’t go on for long, as he seemed to understand that he would bore them after too long. He changed the subject fairly soon and began to talk about the recent school events.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As some of you may have seen, the Moordale Quizheads were live at the NSQC finals on Friday afternoon. They emerged triumphant at the end, which is great news! So give a big round of applause to Steve, Dex, Viv and Maeve!” He already seemed felt like he was even more proud than his predecessor would have been.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis looked back at Maeve as everyone in the room clapped for her. She was trying to hide out of embarrassment, but that proved to be impossible, what with Aimee’s whooping and cheering for both Maeve and Steve. Maeve caught his eye, and he turned around, maybe too fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr Logan was now talking about the play. “Another congratulations to the cast and crew of the Romeo and Juliet production for last Friday! They may have not been able to finish, but their performance was… unique and impressive all the same. So that brings us up to today…” He kept speaking about the new events for the week ahead. The usual boring assembly stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the assembly, the day went nearly as Otis had expected it to. Nothing important happened, and besides Eric being busy at break, he just hung out with him and knuckled down. As they were leaving to go to the bikes, Adam said goodbye to Eric and walked off home. Eric turned around, grinning his usual white grin when it suddenly disappeared and he nudged Otis, who was undoing the lock from his bike.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Otis,” he said, his voice showing a hint of surprise. “Otis, Maeve’s coming over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis jerked upright so suddenly that he hit his head on Eric’s bike, went to feel the bump on his head, realised he was wearing his helmet and spun around, only to find Maeve already right next to him, holding back a laugh. He composed himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Maeve,” he stammered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Dickhead. Can I talk to you for a sec?” She looked at Eric and raised her eyebrows. He got the message.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I Know.” He said. “Good lu- Good</span>
  <em>
    <span>bye,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Otis. Definitely good</span>
  <em>
    <span>bye.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He strode off with his bike and Maeve shook her head after him. She turned to Otis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you, uh, want to talk about?” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need a favour,” she said. She explained about the girl who came to her that morning, and how she promised she’d try and set something up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do that Maeve.” He replied, almost instantly. Her face fell, which made him feel guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” she inquired. It sounded almost like an accusation. He told her about the play on Friday, and how he had admitted to running the clinic. He told her that he had fallen out with his Mum because of it, and had only just made up with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please Otis. I didn’t ask for money anyway, and to me, it sounds like that’s why you Mum was disappointed. Just this once and then things can go back to normal. I won’t bother you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a second to look at her. She seemed genuine in her last statement. His heart melted as she looked into his eyes, even just for a second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it one last time.” She seemed happy with that and walked off smiling. A genuine smile this time, not the small, sad smile from Friday night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Otis.” She finished, looking back at him as she walked off. He smiled too and turned around to unfix his bike from the lock. At the last second, he turned back around and swallowed his pride.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Maeve,” he called. She turned around, not certain of what to expect. “I’m not sure I want things to go back to normal.” He finished, just loud enough for her to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too.” She said, smiling bashfully, looking right into his eyes again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned around one last time and headed home, leaving him standing there, to smile and daydream.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So it only felt right to end with a Maeve/Otis scene. I intend for this to lead to them becoming close again, but I'm in no rush to do so, as I believe S3 will dance around the notion as well.<br/>I wanted to introduce the new Headmaster as the complete antithesis of Mr Groff, whilst remaining professional. I hope he will be interesting to read.<br/>Any criticism would be more than welcome, and thanks for the support. Ly :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. E2 P1 - The Last Client</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is the first part of the second episode of my attempt at a realistic series 3. I hope you enjoy and remember that none of this is canon in any way.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for the support on the last chapters. I tried not to keep you waiting too long, but I don't want to rush these because I want them to be the best they can be.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jean awoke on Tuesday with her regular chest pains. She had been given some pills to try and soothe it, but she knew she’d have to just wait them out. She rolled over, opened her phone and opened Jakob’s contact page, debating whether or not to speak to him. She knew she’d have to at some point, but decided it could wait. Otis probably should be told about the pregnancy first, as she wanted to maintain the level of trust they had been trying to build up recently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slid out of bed, lightheaded, sat back down for a second, and then stood back up and dressed. By the time she got downstairs, Otis was already having breakfast. He had got some toast ready for her when he heard her get up, for which she was grateful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re up early,” she perceived. “Got something on today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Mum, just meeting some friends before school.” He wasn’t lying, and she believed him. He had decided that he wouldn’t tell her about the clinic session, despite not wanting to hide things from her anymore. He felt that it was a private matter which didn’t need discussing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded and thought nothing more of it, happy that Otis was becoming more sociable. He finished his toast and put his plate by the sink. The house was now back to normal, and any rubbish leftover from the party he had sorted over the weekend. It was over a week ago now, and he was glad he’d dealt with most of the consequences.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I better go.” He announced, grabbed his bag and walked towards the door before he heard his Mum say his name. His head appeared from around the doorframe, and the rest of his body followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are, you around tonight to talk?” asked Jean. He had promised on Friday that he would be, and they hadn’t fully resolved the whole clinic thing. “You can finish telling your story about Maeve if you like,” Jean suggested. His expression changed at her name, and Jean noticed, but tried not to read too much into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, yes. Yes, I can talk later.” He smiled and walked out. Otis thought she had something else to tell him, but couldn’t think what it could be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t leave in a hurry because he was as nervous as ever, but he was never late to anything. The clinic session wasn’t actually booked for the morning. It would likely be at break, but he thought he should get it sorted as soon as he could to end the clinic once and for all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was nervous about speaking with Maeve, as usual. But he knew he had to, and it felt better this time knowing that she wanted to talk to him too, rather than wanting to be left alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time he got to school and locked his bike up, there were a few people around the hallways. He hadn’t told Maeve he’d be early, and neither did she expect him to be. But when she arrived and saw his bike already outside, she smiled and rolled her eyes; unsure what else she had imagined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found the girl pretty fast and began to take details and timing for the session. When the girl offered to pay, Maeve reluctantly declined, knowing that she would eventually have to find another way to get money. Otis came over to them, looking nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Maeve spoke first, hoping he’d stop looking so awkward. “This is Christine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Christine. Hi, Maeve. Have you arranged a time yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maeve nodded. “At break, in the toilet block behind the gym. Only felt right.” She added with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis returned the smile and then looked at Christine. “See you later, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye.” She stumbled off across the corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis turned to Maeve, who was rummaging through her bag to find her phone. That reminded Otis about the voicemail and made a mental note to ask Maeve about it later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She seems a bit flustered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Maeve said, looking up. “She was the same yesterday.” She pulled out her phone and checked her messages. He caught a glimpse of the screen: one message from Aimee and that was it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you gonna be there at break?” He couldn’t help but think that she had already listened to his message and not spoken about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I always am, Otis. Do you want some background on the client?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No thanks. I should be prepared for whatever.” Maeve seemed to find that slightly funny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got to dash then. Aimee wants to meet before class.” She said and started to walk off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you at break, then,” Otis said as she went. He turned around and leant against the lockers, let out a sigh and stared at the ceiling for a minute or two. It was still a while until class started, and Eric wouldn’t be in for at least another ten minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Came a voice to his left. He looked down to see Ola. “What’re you doing here so early?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really know to be honest.” He sighed again. She could see that he was still hung up on something, and was about to ask what was up when he continued. “I went to see my Dad on Friday. You were right. Thanks.” He knew she had never met his Dad, but her advice had been spot on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay,” she said, somewhat puzzled, but she decided not to push the subject. “Has Mr Logan or anybody spoken to you about the clinic?” He had completely forgotten about that and was glad he hadn’t been called up yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t jinx it,” he joked. “I’m sure they will at some point. It’ll be interesting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least you didn’t mention Maeve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otis frowned at her. “I thought you’d prefer if I had gotten her involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, we cleared things up. No more silent loathing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s… good.” He looked forwards again, wondering how that had come about. “How’re things with Lily?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slow, but that’s fine. I’m used to slow now.” She laughed and walked off. “See you around, Otis.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean had been much less busy lately. Not only because of the incident with Mr Groff but also because she had booked fewer clients to see her. She felt that she needed time to herself, and wanted to figure out how to speak to Jakob. Otis wasn’t going to be difficult anymore. He would understand all she had to say to him, and she felt very happy knowing that they could understand each other again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whilst Remi was still in the country, he hadn’t been to see them again yet, and was staying at a hotel nearby. He would be going back to America soon to pick up some of his things. Jean wondered if he would actually listen to what she had said for once. When she had asked which children he wanted to be a good father to, he hadn’t answered, and she assumed he was still thinking about it. Otis had needed a Dad his entire life, and wouldn’t be able to fully forgive Remi, whereas his boys in America had had Remi around for a while. She probably thought it was best if he stayed with them, so they didn’t have to experience the lack of a father as Otis had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t her issue, anyway. And she lost her train of thought as another chest pain hit her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric and Adam had been getting along surprisingly well so far. Adam was a lot more confident with his sexuality since the play, and Eric was determined to help him as much as he could. But Adam was still Adam, and that meant that school was not good for him. He tried his best, which was significantly better than he had been before his expulsion. He seemed to have really taken this seriously. But he still struggled with quite a few of his subjects.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ola was usually there for him. She had gotten to know Eric, finally. Even though she had been with Otis for a month or so she hadn’t spoken to Eric much. He was very friendly but held a very slight hint of resignation towards her. She supposed this was because of how she had ended things with Otis and decided to prove that she was better than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At break on Tuesday, Adam decided to ask her for help with his maths. He actually wanted to learn how to do it for himself, so he paid close attention to her pointers. Eric knew why Adam was trying so hard and had realised since he got to know Adam better, that Adam did a lot of things nowadays to try to impress his Dad. He hadn’t said anything about this to Adam, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody actually knew what Mr Groff was doing now. Besides Adam, of course, and his Mum. Eric had asked once or twice but Adam said that he’d prefer not to talk about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So they sat there, outside the school near the toilets, doing the maths work whilst chatting. Lily flitted about the group, never really sitting still. Eric still thought she was crazy. But at that moment his mind wasn’t on the conversation with Adam and Ola. He was busy thinking about Otis, who had told him that morning about the last ever clinic session he would be running at break. Eric had been at the play, so he knew that all the teachers now knew about the clinic. He was worried that Otis would somehow be found out, or Mr Logan would call him up to his office to scold him. Otis assured him that it’d be fine and that there would be no more clinic after this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Truthfully, Otis was anxious too, but for different reasons. He had his mind set on finishing the session as soon as he could, so he was stunned when he got to the actual therapy bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine sat on the adjacent toilet, and when he sat down he began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay so, anything that’s said in here stays in here,” he assured her. “There’s no judgement, so speak your mind and don’t feel pressured.” He started most of his sessions in the same way, and let the client speak from there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay...” mused Christine. She seemed a lot less frantic than earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what can I help you with?” encouraged Otis. Christine seemed reluctant to start, or as if she didn’t know how to start.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure how to say this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. Like I said, no judgement.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. So, for the last few years, I haven’t really been comfortable with myself as a person, and I think I don’t want to be a girl anymore. I don’t feel happy like this, but I don’t think my parents or my friends could accept me as a boy.” Otis understood immediately what he was dealing with. It would take a few more sessions than just today, and regretted accepting this session. He did his best to not let his regret show and began to talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand. Well this is a new one on me,” Christine slouched as he said that, and he hoped that he hadn’t disappointed her. “Leave it with me. I’ll do some research and get back to you as soon as I can. Maeve will let you know when I can. For now, I’ll just say that someone will always be there for you, and if you’re happy with yourself, then others should find it even easier to like you and support you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine seemed content with that and got up to leave. “Thanks for this,” she said as she made for the door. Otis smiled back, remaining where he sat until she had gone out of earshot. He let out another long sigh and wished that he had asked Maeve for some background on the client.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So if you have been paying attention to S1 and S2, the only representation we haven't seen yet is for the trans community. I think that there will definitely be a new character in S3 who will either be trans or struggling to come to terms with their gender. I don't know much about the subject and I don't mean any offence to anybody who is trans, I just want to give them some form of representation.<br/>Any criticism would be appreciated and thanks for the support :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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